Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sometimes we do interviews with the media and then we turn on the radio or open the newspapers and we are completely shocked to see what it was they decided to highlight from the conversation.
Mr. Speaker, I was sent a series of questions by the local Hub reporter about the new health centre. I said, well, send them in writing and I’ll answer them all in writing. It was a whole gamut of questions, everything about will this attract new doctors to what services will be there. It was a very good list of questions, but she asked me what did I think of the new hospital location, to which I said I’ve never supported the current location of the new facility. I’ve had doubts about the readiness from a drainage perspective, I have concerns about the traintracks if the use of the train surface increases from economic activity, but the Town of Hay River really wanted the hospital development to be there as the anchor development that would bring services to that area, to which they are hoping to attract more development.
The Department of Health and Social Services was respectful of the Town of Hay River’s desire to locate it at the plan site, and with the competition for so many capital infrastructure needs to drag out the location question any longer would have risked the commitment of the funding for the new facility, for a key piece of infrastructure such as this that would be around and serve us for so many years to come. I would have preferred the ENR forestry site on the east side of the highway, but that’s not relevant now. But the headline still said that’s all the article was about, was how I didn’t like the location.
So what I wanted to do today to set the record straight is later I will table the questions and answers. I will table the article. What I want to say is we had due process on location. We had meetings with Public Works and Services. We did geotechnical on a number of sites. As a result, from the town’s input, the MLAs’ input, the current location where the new health centre is going to be built was decided up and agreed to, and my little, minority concerns were not going to be a deciding factor. Certainly, from my opinion, I didn’t want them to delay the start of the project, and the funding has been committed.
Mr. Speaker, for the record today, I wanted to clarify that and I guess I’ll have to figure out how to be more clear with the media in the future.
I thank the department, I thank the government on proceeding on this very important project to the people of Hay River. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
